flame
- 01 B1 Intermediate
n.the bright, hot part of a fire that you can see.
n.the visible, gaseous part of a fire produced by the combustion of fuel.
Simple“The candle flame danced in the breeze from the open window.”
In context“The orange flames licked at the dry logs, quickly transforming the small spark into a roaring campfire that warmed the entire clearing.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a very strong feeling, like passion, anger, or excitement.
n.an intense state of emotion, particularly passion, zeal, or burning anger.
Simple“The flame of hope still burned in her heart despite the bad news.”
In context“The speaker's words fanned the flame of rebellion among the crowd, turning their quiet frustration into active protest.”
Antonyms - 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.someone you were in love with, usually for a short time.
n.a romantic partner or lover, often in the context of a past or intense but brief relationship.
Simple“He ran into an old flame at the wedding last weekend.”
In context“Seeing his old flame after a decade brought back a flood of memories, though they both realised how much they had changed since university.”
Synonyms - 04 C1 Advanced
n.an angry or insulting message sent to someone online.
n.an aggressively insulting or abusive message posted in an online forum or social media thread.
Simple“He decided not to reply to the flame he received on the message board.”
In context“The moderator stepped in after a series of flames derailed the technical discussion and turned it into a personal argument.”
UsageOften used in the context of 'flame wars' where users trade insults back and forth.
Antonyms - 05 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to burn brightly with flames.
v.to produce flames or to burn with a steady blaze.
Simple“The dry wood began to flame as soon as the match touched it.”
In context“The bonfire flamed up suddenly when the dry brush caught, casting long shadows across the dark garden.”
Antonyms - 06 C1 Advanced
v.to send angry or rude messages to someone on the internet.
v.to post abusive or insulting messages to a person or group in an online environment.
Simple“The gamer was flamed by his teammates for making a silly mistake.”
In context“The journalist was flamed on social media by thousands of users who disagreed with her controversial opinion piece.”
UsageUsually transitive, taking the person being insulted as the direct object.
- 07 C1 Advanced
adj.having a bright reddish-orange colour like fire.
adj.of a brilliant reddish orange-gold colour resembling that of a fire.
Simple“She wore a flame red dress that stood out in the crowd.”
In context“The autumn leaves turned a brilliant flame orange, creating a stunning contrast against the grey October sky.”
Synonymsfieryorange red
Usage flames spread
“French researchers are also working on drones that could fly close to the flames.”
“A fire whirl, or fire tornado, rises from flames near Wofford Heights, Calif., in August 2021.”
From Middle English flawme, blend of Old French flame and flambe, flamble, the first from Latin flamma, the second from Latin flammula, diminutive of flamma, both from pre-Latin fladma; Proto-Italic flagmā, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to shimmer, gleam, shine”). Displaced native Old English līeġ.
From Middle English flawmen, from Old French flamber, flammer.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.